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Anyone still using their Rokkors with film?


rick_jack1

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It seems like photographers shooting film with Minolta (MF & AF) camera are becoming an extinct breed. I started photography with a SRT101 and a handful of Rokkors and missed it. So now and then I get out and shoot roll of film.

Am I alone?

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Glad to have gotten 3 replies. I recently found a Minolta XE-7 body brand new in a box on Ebay. It was like stepping into a time machine. This camera is truly new and works like new. Just advancing the film and firing the shutter is as smooth as butter. This got me started up again. At one time I owned at least one Rokkor lens of each focal length from the 7.5mm through 500mm and foolishly sold them (along with my XK & SRM) in order to switch to Nikon digital. I had little choice as a event/wedding photographer 120/220 film was no longer being used by the studio I worked for. I won't knock my Nikon equipment but some of my Minolta wides were clearly better. So I recently purchased like new copies of the 21mm f2.8 & 28mm f2 Rokkors. I am fortunate to have a local lab that processes all sizes of film and still have my darkroom for B&W.

My only problem is free time to get out and shoot, but hopefully I will and plan on starting up a album of photos made from my film cameras.

I wish you all the best with your Minolta cameras, keep using them.

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Have had an SRT101 and a couple of normals (45/2 and 55/1.7) since my grandfather passed. I have amassed a large collection of vintage cameras and seem to have always picked up something else instead as I rotate cameras.

I lucked into an SRT Super (Asian market) at a local goodwill a few weeks ago. The body was trashed, but it had the MD 100/2.5 and MC-X 50/1.4 in the bag with it. Great condition with Skylight filters, Manuals, handwritten receipts, warranty card and all. Bought by original owner in Tokyo mid-70s...for considerably more than what I gave.

Since then, my SRT101 and X370 have been my primary carries. The 100 is my first portrait lens, and it has given me a new "style" or perspective if you will. Recently bought the 35/2.8 too.

There's a reason the digital crowd is buying these up and adapting them. Rokkor is probably the best bargain out there. Fantastically capable equipment.

I'm usually shooting Kentmere in 100 or 400 or Ilford FP4+ if I'm after that look.

Enjoy your awesome find.

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The Minolta XE-7 (and other XE models) also has a quieter than average focal plane shutter. It is the Copal-Leitz shutter which was also used in the Leica R3. In fact, the R3 and XE involved cooperation between Minolta and Leica.

I had an MD 100mm f2.5 (last version with 49mm filter). Regretted selling it, but didn't think I needed it since I had a couple of macro lenses in that range,

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Your correct a XE-7 is very similar to a Leica R3 and my XD11 looks like my Leica R5 with minor differences. Leitz and Minolta were very intertwined in the 1970's, I believe there are more similarities than made known to the public. Everyone knows that Leica's 24mm f2.8 is really a Minolta lens (some Leica owners refuse to buy one for that reason) but so is the 16mm f2.8, 35-70mm f3.5, 70-210mm f4, and the 21mm f2.8 is similar to Leica's 21mm f4.

I was a die hard Minolta user until Minolta introduced the Maxxum and changed lens mounts. I felt like I was stabbed in the heart. I stopped adding to my Minolta equipment and switched to Nikon (an F3) and started buying Nikkors which can still be used with current DSLR's. Until the Olympus 4/3 and mirrorless cameras came along old Rokkors could only be used with film. But I have seen some owners who had their lenses converted to a Nikon or Canon mount (usually the 58mm f1.2).

The lens I regret selling the most is the 85mm f1.7 MC Rokkor-X. It was my favorite lens. I modified it to MD myself by adding a prong to the aperture ring. It's a one of a kind, if anyone sees it let me know.

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It seems like photographers shooting film with Minolta (MF & AF) camera are becoming an extinct breed. I started photography with a SRT101 and a handful of Rokkors and missed it. So now and then I get out and shoot roll of film.

Am I alone?

 

I'll use my Sony A77 for grab shots, but when I want to shoot for enjoyment I will take my XD-11 and a set of Rokkor/MD primes. There are still one or two lenses on my wish list, but what I have are simply wonderful and the XD-11 provides a vastly more satisfying experience than today's "computers with lenses". The simplicity of the instrument allows me to concentrate on composition, exposure, and the characteristics of the lens and film. And the XD-11 is much smaller and quieter. I suppose aesthetics are personal choice, but to me an sr-T, XE, or XD camera simply looks and feels better than anything made since.

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One of these days I will invest in a Mirrorless camera that can adapt my Rokkors. But from my experience using old Takumar, Leica-R, Olympus, and other great old film camera lenses on my Canon DSLR they don't perform as well as they did with film. I don't remember the physics about it but it has to do with the size of the rear element and optical design of the lens. Light rays strike the sensor at angles that cause fringe and detieroate image quality. Even some of my best Nikon lenses are dogs on my D750. Lenses over 50mm seem to be OK. But I have found that telephoto lenses were not Minolta's strong suit. The Rokkor 85mm's, 100mm's, 200mm f2.8, and 400mm APO are very good but the others are middle of the road. I shot between 21 & 85mm most of the time when using my Minolta bodies and always got first class results. I love my XD-11 but looking back at my best images most were made using my XK. I think the heavy body helped me hold it steadier. I own all the body's from SR-7 through XD-11 (but sold my SRM). When Minolta switched their logo changing the "O" it looked silly and turned me off. I didn't want a Maxim so I switched to Nikon which turned out to be a wise move because I can use every lens I bought on their newest DSLR. I have plenty of Ektar 100 film for my Minolta bodies, the hard part is choosing which one to use. Right now it's my XE7. When I scan my film at 4800dpi I can almost match my best digital. It's good enough for me because I'm having fun The real hard decision is which one of my MF camera systems goes along for the ride. I need to be 20 again to be strong enough to carry all this stuff.

Thanks for everyone's replies and keep posting Minolta stories.

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The 75/3.5 (actually a pair) in my old Minolta Autocord is a mighty fine lens: I've just shot a couple of formal wedding-pictures with it.

 

Got a MD 24-35/3.5 a few years ago for the price of it's leather-puch, but don't have a Minolta-mount-camera for it, otherwise I would use it as well.

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It seems like photographers shooting film with Minolta (MF & AF) camera are becoming an extinct breed. I started photography with a SRT101 and a handful of Rokkors and missed it. So now and then I get out and shoot roll of film.

Am I alone?

No, you're not alone at all. My first SLR was the Kine-Exacta, and soon supplemented it with the Minolta SR-2 in 1959. My Minolta SR-T 101 and Minolta SR-T 201 cameras were much appreciated, especially with the then new in camera light metering. My favorites, however, were and still are my Minolta XK and XE-7 cameras. They're still being used whenever the occasions permit, the expense and limitations of film processing permitting. Unfortunately, my favorite camera repair service just closed for retirement, making the maintenance of these vintage cameras and lenses even more problematic. The collection accumulated examples of about every Minolta prime focal length from 7.5mm to 1600mm, except the 250mm RF, 400mm, and 600mm. The collection skipped over almost all of the AF cameras but two, and skipped over all but a modest number of AF lenses which are now being used on my Konica Minolta 7D and a number of Sony DSLR cameras. Back in 2001 the decision was made to invest in many more of the Minolta MC/MD prime lenses rather than spend the monies on the Maxxum cameras, gambling and hoping the MC/MD lenses could one day in the future be adapted to a digital camera. That gamble appears to be paying off now with the Sony mirrorless cameras. I'm very much anticipating the opportunity to use the wide angle prime lenses on the full frame mirrorless cameras. The 7.5mm Fisheye was a real blast to use!

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  • 3 weeks later...
I have been a Minolta user since the SR7 I purchased used in the early 1970's. I still have XE7 and XK's and SRT101. Nowdays I shoot mostly digital with Sony A700 and A850 with a bunch of Maxxum lenses. I still have several Rokkors. One is the 45mm f/2 which I want to use digitally on the Fuji X-Pro2 and also the Fuji GFX. It seems that this particular Rokkor will work for both the APS-C and the pseudo MF sensor - the Fuji GFX Facebook page has many examples showing the use of the 45mm f/2 lens.
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Hi,

The Autocord was a great camera but the Rollie's and Mamiyaflex TLR's were tough competition. I agree with the 7.5mm it was fun when you got an idea where to use it, I got much more use from the 16mm. I'm slowly buying back the lenses I loved, my latest find that I never owned was the 28mm f2 MC Rokkor-X, it is a fantastic lens. One of these days I'm going to do a field comparison between it and my 28mm f2 Nikkor. I'll throw in a 28mm Leica, Olympus, Takumar, & Canon while I'm at it.

Upside Down by Rick_Jack

red forest by Rick_Jack

Glad these great lenses are still being enjoyed (even if it's on a Sony A7RII).

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I love all the inventions of Minolta (with their cameras) except the mode dial PASM which I believe was introduced on the Maxxum 9 first (in comparison with all other manufacturers, please correct me if I am wrong because I am not so sure about this). I surely don't like the PASM mode dial.
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  • 3 months later...
  • 3 weeks later...
It seems like photographers shooting film with Minolta (MF & AF) camera are becoming an extinct breed. I started photography with a SRT101 and a handful of Rokkors and missed it. So now and then I get out and shoot roll of film.

Am I alone?

not alone and good to know. purchased my 101 used in 1973. my grandchildren place special value on their photos from these- I think it makes them

stop and think about what they take for granted from digital.

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My first SLR was a black chromium plated XD-7. After Minolta introduced the AF system, MF equipment eventually became very affordable. Over time, I acquired at least a dozen cameras and prime lenses from 16mm fish eye to 400mm tele. The system was affordable, and a lot of fun to use. You can learn a lot about photography by shooting prime lenses, and having to think about every image before you push the shutter release. Being so affordable also allowed me to experiment with lots of different macro equipment, specialty lenses, a multiple flash setup, and so on.

 

It took a long time before I switched to digital - around the same time Minolta sold the AF system to Sony. I went to Canon EOS, and have not looked back. I will never sell my first XD-7, and I have kept a few lenses, but the rest had to go to finance the digital system. To be honest, I have not taken a single film shot since I got the DSLR. Most of my images end up on the web, and I really got tired of scanning. I used to shoot slides, and they too are collecting dust now. I share and look at my images on the computer. I really wouldn't know what to do with slides or negatives now, other than to scan them.

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  • 1 month later...

Today I was gifted an EX+ condition SR-1 set with 35, 50 and 135 Rokkor lenses, plus extension tubes #1-#5. Also have an XG-M and 7000.

 

The SR-1 will see some use when I am done with the roll in my Canon FX, also a 1960s era camera.

 

The 7000 I put alot of film through in the 1990s. It is badly disintegrating, and I want a new Maxxum body to use my awesome 28-70/2.8 G lens.

 

The XG-M has not seen much use, and probably will not. It just doesn't speak to me at the moment.

Wilmarco Imaging

Wilmarco Imaging, on Flickr

wilmarcoimaging on Instagram

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@Wilmarco- To replace the 7000 you might look at the 8000i. You gain spot metering, three AF sensors, brighter VF, top shutter speed of 1/8000 (with X-sync 1/200), PC socket for flash, and creative expansion card slots. The outer covering of the 5000/7000/9000 as well as the "i" series (like 5000i, 7000i, and 8000') do tend to deteriorate over time (turn sticky). I believe the xi series is also that way. The later XTSI and HTSI, Maxum (4 and 5) have a different covering, but appear less rugged than earlier models.

Congrats on the SR-1. It is a solid beast that will serve you well. I have a later SR-3 with the 50mm f1.8 Auto Rokkor and 100mm f3.5 Auto Rokkor which works perfectly.

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